| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] | What makes *someone* a native speaker? Thread poster: sdvplatt
|
|---|
Adieu 
Ukrainian to English
+ ...
| There's another layer to it in these globalized times | Sep 14, 2021 |
Plenty of immigrant kids are either "former native speakers" or "partially literate native speakers" of one language and (sometimes) full native speakers of their second or even third language.
My own strongest language is my third (English). I have entirely forgotten my second language, which I used to be near-native in as a child.
My source languages are my first, my fifth, and my sixth. My sole target language is my third.
As to my "true" native language... See more Plenty of immigrant kids are either "former native speakers" or "partially literate native speakers" of one language and (sometimes) full native speakers of their second or even third language.
My own strongest language is my third (English). I have entirely forgotten my second language, which I used to be near-native in as a child.
My source languages are my first, my fifth, and my sixth. My sole target language is my third.
As to my "true" native language, I speak it perfectly with no accent, but my writing skills are somewhat lacking (maybe at working class crappy district high school level).
Our globalized world can be funny like that. ▲ Collapse
| | | | LIZ LI
China
Local time: 16:46
French to Chinese
+ ...
If you're a native Italian, you'll understand why it's "illegal" put pineapples on pizza. (vs Hawaiin)
If you're a native Chinese, you'll understand why it's "forbidden" to make sweet Xiaolongbao (steamed minibuns). (vs Japanese)
And the list may keep going on......
So being a native speaker is apparently different from being a native linguist/translator/interpreter.
Because we agree to set a higher standard for our profession.
| | | | | Too many questions popping up | Sep 16, 2021 |
LIZ LI wrote:
If you're a native Italian, you'll understand why it's "illegal" put pineapples on pizza. (vs Hawaiin)
If you're a native Chinese, you'll understand why it's "forbidden" to make sweet Xiaolongbao (steamed minibuns). (vs Japanese)
And the list may keep going on
Being a native speaker of whichever language, am I supposed to follow TV shows? And what if I don't? Am I supposed to know teen slang? What about the history of teen slang? And how far back? How many memes am I supposed to keep in mind? Over here, it's okay not to stay up to date with the latest language trends, you might as well speak a century old language and that won't sound too weird. The wording of the topic starter's question makes it too easy to answer, but if we're talking about someone achieving native-level knowledge of a language, then it is almost impossible to answer. They say, three year old kids can make it, but what if it's three years and one month? So, my niece won't achieve native level in English because she started learning it at six, but one of her friends might, because I think she lived in London at a much younger age. But what if there are exceptions? Is there a test for whether your brain can no longer absorb languages the way a kid's brain does? Anyway, my English classes started when I was about fifteen (my first foreign language was German), but I'm not claiming native level, am I?
[Edited at 2021-09-16 07:33 GMT]
| | | | | Swearings abuse holy things | Sep 18, 2021 |
Regardless of what your native language is and what language you talk, all swearings abuse holy things: birth, love, life, mother... So, why should we do that?
As an interpreter, I often just point out the thought but omit such words literally.
| | |
|
|
|
LIZ LI
China
Local time: 16:46
French to Chinese
+ ...
Denis Fesik wrote:
Being a native speaker of whichever language, am I supposed to follow TV shows? And what if I don't? Am I supposed to know teen slang? What about the history of teen slang? And how far back? How many memes am I supposed to keep in mind? Over here, it's okay not to stay up to date with the latest language trends, you might as well speak a century old language and that won't sound too weird. The wording of the topic starter's question makes it too easy to answer, but if we're talking about someone achieving native-level knowledge of a language, then it is almost impossible to answer. They say, three year old kids can make it, but what if it's three years and one month? So, my niece won't achieve native level in English because she started learning it at six, but one of her friends might, because I think she lived in London at a much younger age. But what if there are exceptions? Is there a test for whether your brain can no longer absorb languages the way a kid's brain does? Anyway, my English classes started when I was about fifteen (my first foreign language was German), but I'm not claiming native level, am I?
[Edited at 2021-09-16 07:33 GMT]
Babies don't do TV series, but all of them have their native language(s) once they start to talk.
The only "test" I can ever think of, about one's native langage, is the recognition from other natives.
I personnly don't think that any written test may work out.
I have a similar question like the one from the topic starter:
what's the difference between native and near-native? How "near" is that? And what on earth is in between them?
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 10:46
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
LIZ LI wrote:
what's the difference between native and near-native? How "near" is that? And what on earth is in between them?
Near-native is prone to an ocassional error. There is nothing in between them.
I knew an Austrian who spoke my native language perfectly on all levels (pronunciation, syntax, vocabulary, idioms, etc). One day they used a very weird preposition, and it happened only once. That’s an example of near-native, a perfect software with an occasional bug.
| | | |
Korana Lasić wrote:
Someone who's internalised a language at a very young age, before they started learning it in any structured way. I also think that if someone thinks, dreams, and makes love in a certain language, that's a good indication of them being native speakers of it. Some people do this in more than one language and that makes them bilingual.
What if "someone" thinks, dreams and makes love in a language that is not their mother tongue? would that define them as native speakers?
| | | | | Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » What makes *someone* a native speaker? | Trados Business Manager Lite | Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio
Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.
More info » |
| | Trados Studio 2022 Freelance | The leading translation software used by over 270,000 translators.
Designed with your feedback in mind, Trados Studio 2022 delivers an unrivalled, powerful desktop
and cloud solution, empowering you to work in the most efficient and cost-effective way.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
Translation news
